"Journey to the Center of the Earth" (2008)
Director: Eric Brevig
Screenplay: Screenplay by Michael Weiss and Jennifer Flackett / Mark Levin. Based on the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne.
Stars:
- Brendan Fraser (Trevor Anderson)
- Josh Hutcherson (Sean Anderson)
- Anita Briem (Hannah Asgeirsson)
- Seth Meyers (Professor Alan Kitzens)
- Jean Michel Pare (Max Anderson)
- Jane Wheeler (Elizabeth)
- Frank Fontaine (Old Man)
- Giancarlo Caltabiano (Leonard)
- Kaniehtiio Horn (Gum-Chewing Girl)
- Garth Gilker (Sigurbjorn Asgeirsson).
Summary
Based on the classic Jules Verne novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth stars Brendan Fraser (Crash, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) as a science professor whose untraditional hypotheses have made him the laughing stock of the academic community. But on an expedition in Iceland, he and his nephew stumble upon a major discovery that launches them on a thrilling journey deep beneath the Earth's surface, where they travel through never-before-seen worlds and encounter a variety of unusual creatures.
Comments
3D movies were the definition of cheesy until IMAX proved the potential was there after all for enhancing the theatrical experience. Journey was directed by Academy Award-winning visual effects veteran Eric Brevig (Total Recall, Pearl Harbor). Brevig and cinematographer Chuck Shuman used the same cameras that were developed for Walden's large-format 3-D films from director James Cameron: Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep.
The film marks the first live-action production to be projected on Real D's digital 3-D screens, which by this summer is totalling more than 1,500 domestically.
There was some uncertaintly about Journey's release. After New Line's downsizing, announced Feb. 28, Journey moved into purgatory state with talk within corporate circles of it being moved to October or even next year, but its July 11 release date was reinstated when New Line was absorbed by Warner Brothers in March. Concern that releasing the movie July 11 would conflict with Warner Bros.' July 18 release of The Dark Knight was alleviated when screenings made it clear that the high-testing Journey skews young and would not cannibalize the same audience.
